Japanisch-Deutsches Zentrum Berlin

Exhibition “Gasagoso” Artists‘ Books by Veronika Schaepers

Opening: October 14, 2010, 7 pm, with a reading by TAWADA Yôko, a Japanese writer living in Berlin.

Veronika Schaeper’s creative book designs strongly reveal influences from various perspectives. She has now lived in Tôkyô for more than thirteen years working on her carefully thought out and differentiated book creations. Each year she creates one or two books; the print run is small but continues to increase thanks to a growing demand. Veronika works with various materials, using different paper in muted tones, sometimes encased in bright fluorescent covers. Everyday Japanese life has become increasingly important in her work; and in a very unique form. She employs no syncretism – no shameless borrowing of Japanese art traditions, and yet Tokyo is clearly visible in the materials, the perspectives and quotes from everyday Japanese life. 

Common to all her artwork is the design detail of the textual content. She places a strong focus on original texts, and these were recently published with the artist Durs Grünbein for the first time in an art book form dryly entitled 26°57.3'N 142°16.8'E. The chosen materials as well as artworks using nautical charts and scientific data about a giant squid found in Tôkyô Bay encompass a fascination for the deep sea.    

This exhibition also display her latest art book entitled “Okonomiyaki”. The text, or better the texts in the book were written in German and Japanese by the author TAWADA Yôko. The basis and story of the dish refers to a type of Japanese omelette to which you add different ingredients such as diced vegetables, seafood or meat depending on region and taste. After the omelette has been cooked it is seasoned and served with various sauces and garnishes. This ritualised pattern and layering are in fact reflected in the layering of light and dark pages in Veronika Schäper’s book, and in the sauce patterns she requested from friends and acquaintances. 

All of these stringent concepts can only be convincingly realised with technical precision. And the diversity is quite amazing. The traditional scroll format of “Funky Sabbath” is made using vinyl mats and tin cliché prints that sit alongside fluorescent inkjet prints on the finest Japan paper, the numbering of the different paper types used in each imprint appear to represent Japanese paper history.

The smoked paper with its own structure complements the viewing of the “DO” book with a smoky dimension. Veronika Schäper carefully uses plastics and materials, and utilises them differently in well-structured single edition versions.

(Text: Susanne Padberg)

Veronika Schaepers was born in 1969 in Gescher (Westfalia) and studied at the College for Art and Design Burg Giebichenstein in Halle. After receiving her diploma she accepted a fellowship at Centro del bel Libro Ascona (Switzerland); a further fellowship took her to Paper Nao in Tôkyô (Japan) where she has lived and worked since 1997.

Her books have received numerous awards and prizes including the MCBA Prize 2009 of the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, the Innovation Prize bel libro 2009, Ascona, Switzerland, and in 2005 the State Prize of the German State of North Rhein-Westfalia.

Her works can be found in numerous international collections and museums.

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